Jan. 17, 2009
La Salle Explorers vs. No. 15 Xavier Musketeers
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: Cintas Center
TV: CBS College Sports Network/The Comcast Network
Game: Conference
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La Salle Explorers (9-6, 1-1)
Conference: Atlantic 10
Following their first ever win against the Charlotte 49ers, the La Salle Explorers will look to sweep their first road trip of the season and move over the .500 mark in the A-10 schedule against the Xavier Musketeers. As the Explorers begin the second half of the season on Sunday against the Musketeers, it will mark the third time this year that the Explorers will play against a nationally-ranked opponent. The previous two times resulted in losses to No. 3 Connecticut and No. 23 Villanova, who are a combined 28-4 as of Thursday night. In the Explorers 68-61 win over the 49ers, junior Rodney Green, the team's leading scorer on the season, was held scoreless in the first half but still managed to finish with 11 points. Adding to the mix was sophomore Terrell Williams as he put together his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. In the victory, junior Ruben Guillandeaux sealed the win for the Explorers with a three-pointer and four free throws in the final half minute. Guillandeaux was productive once again in the starting lineup, finishing with a team-high 14 points. The Explorers enter Sunday's game coming off a contest where they decisively defeated their opponent under the glass. La Salle hauled down 50 rebounds and produced 27 second chance points against the 49ers. The Explorers will look to imitate that style of play when they face a slightly better rebounding team on Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati.
No. 15 Xavier Musketeers (14-2, 3-0)
Conference: Atlantic 10
Going into the 2008-09 season, the Xavier Musketeers were projected to win the Atlantic 10. Head Coach Sean Miller's Musketeers have certainly been on a roll this season as their national-ranking and record would indicate. After winning the first nine games of the season, the Musketeers went on to lose two straight courtesy of No. 3 Duke and No. 17 Butler, which have a combined record of 30-2 as of Thursday night. Since the setback, the Musketeers have now won five straight. On Thursday night, the Musketeers escaped from the Rhode Island Rams with a 67-65 victory in a game that featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes. Though Xavier was held to 24 percent shooting from the field in the second half, the Musketeers got the majority of their production from the free throw line, hitting 19-of-23 attempts in the period. In the win, the Musketeers pulled down 48 boards and four players notched double figures in scoring. Junior Derrick Brown, who leads the team in scoring on the season, led the way with 12 points and put the game out of the Rams' reach at the free throw line with 13 ticks left on the clock. Brown is shooting 52.4 percent on the season with 14 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game in 29.4 minutes. Aside from Brown, seniors B.J. Raymond (12 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and C.J. Anderson (10.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) have been key contributors for Xavier this season. The Musketeers are among the top ten in the nation in trips to the charity strike with 451, but have only converted just over two-thirds of those attempts. So far this season, the Musketeers are defeating their opponents by an average of 10.1 points per game, ranking them first in the conference in scoring offense/scoring defense differential. In Sunday's game against La Salle, the Musketeers will be looking to expand on the commanding 28-6 record they have in the all-time series. Leading the Atlantic 10 in rebounding margin (+8.1), Xavier's matchup with the Explorers (+7.5) is expected to be very fierce under the glass since both teams are the top two teams in the conference in rebounding offense and rebounding defense differential.
Eye on an Explorer: Yves Mekongo Mbala
In Wednesday night's win over Charlotte, junior Yves Mekongo Mbala added to the outputs of Green, Guillandeaux and Williams with 11 points along with a game-high four offensive rebounds giving him nine in total. Mekongo Mbala is one of four players on the team averaging at least 10 points per game and is tied with Vernon Goodridge for the team lead in rebounding (6.1 rpg).
Key Matchup: Kimmani Barrett vs. B.J. Raymond
La Salle junior Kimmani Barrett and Xavier senior B.J. Raymond have played large roles in their team's offense. To date, Barrett (12.9 ppg) and Raymond (12.0 ppg) are ranked second on their respective teams in scoring. In regards to other categories, the two individuals are virtually identical in rebounds, assists, blocks and steals per game. The edge however has to go to Barrett since he has been shooting a team-best 50 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. In Sunday's matchup, these two players will look to keep up their hot shooting after posting double-digit scoring performances in their most recent games. In a game that expects to be won under the boards, Barrett and Raymond will be looked upon to score on second chance opportunities and off turnovers.
